A doctor and refugees said that six more bodies were found in the river that separates Ethiopia’s Tigray region of Sudan. They appealed to the U.N. and Sudanese authorities to aid in their search efforts.
According to Tigray refugees, around 50 bodies were found in the Setit River over the past two weeks. This river flows through the troubled areas of the nine month conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region.
Tefera, Physician Tewodros Tefera, said that he witnessed several refugees pull bodies out of the river in the past week. Tefera, a surgeon from nearby Tigray village of Humera, fled Sudan during the conflict.
Ethnic Tigrayans accuse Ethiopian and allied troops of atrocities in fighting Tigray forces. Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary-of-State, stated in March that ethnic cleansing had occurred in Tigray.
Fears that more bodies may be dumped in the Setit, also known as the Tekeze in Ethiopia, were raised by the latest discovery. According to refugees, the bodies found recently were bloated and devoid of color. They claim that some of the bodies had been mutilated with gouged eyes, severed genitals and a missing leg. Others had their hands bound, or were shot with gunshot wounds.
According to the Tigray League (a newly formed group of Tigrayan refugees living in Sudan’s Kassala or al-Qadarif regions), two bodies were removed on Friday and four others on Saturday. It assists other refugees fleeing conflict in Sudan and helps to search for and bury bodies.
Like the other six bodies, the six were buried in graves dug out by refugees in Wad el-Hilu, a border village on the Sudanese bank.
More than 60,000 Tigrayans fled the Tigray conflict in November to seek refuge in Sudan. Thousands remain in temporary camps just a few meters from the river hoping to hear from new arrivals.
Tefera stated that the group had contacted Sudanese authorities and other aid groups in the area, including the International Committee of the Red Cross to assist with search efforts along the river and identification of the bodies as well as the causes of their deaths.
According to a senior Sudanese official, the military would launch search missions next week in collaboration with the local community. According to the official, he believes that more bodies may be found in this river. The official spoke under condition of anonymity due to the sensitive topic and the frayed relations between Ethiopia and Sudan.
Erika Tovar is the ICRC’s spokesperson in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum. She stated that forensic examinations are Sudanese officials’ work, but that the ICRC was ready to help with materials for proper handling of bodies.
The U.N. refugee agency visited this village earlier in the week. It confirmed that one of the bodies had been pulled from the river, along with what appear to be many new graves.
Refugees believe that the bodies were Tigrayans, who were dumped in the river Humera, which has witnessed some of the most violent violence since November.
Doctors who examined the bodies taken from the river claimed that some of them had tattoos or facial marks common to Tigrayans. This raises alarm about the atrocities committed in the Tigray war’s most remote area.
Ethiopia’s government accused Tigray rivals of disposing the bodies for propaganda purposes. Billene Seyoum spoke out for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmad and said that it was a “fake massacre”.
International pressure has increased on Ahmed’s government, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The U.N., United States and European Union accuse it of beingsieging Tigray while blocking food and other assistance to millions.
Famine is threatening the lives of hundreds of thousands in Ethiopia, Africa’s second-largest country and anchor of the volatile Horn of Africa.
